Brad Pitt sold Hurricane Katrina victims ‘broken promises’ with home-building charity, lawyer claims

Pitt’s Make It Right Foundation is being sued for alleged fraud and unfair trade practices

A lawyer has claimed that Brad Pitt sold victims of Hurricane Katrina “broken promises” by building them poorly made, mould-infested homes.

Following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, Pitt (along with his Make It Right Foundation) pledged in 2006 to build affordable homes for people in New Orleans who had lost everything in the natural disaster.

More than 100 homes were built in 2008.

However, in 2018, a lawsuit was filed against the foundation on behalf of residents who claimed that the houses built suffered from structural issues and were infested with mould and termites.

It has since moved to federal court, with Make It Right accused of fraud, breach of contract and unfair trade practices.

The lawsuit is still ongoing, with lawyer Ron Austin representing the residents claiming in a new interview that they had been “sold” a “bunch of broken promises” by the foundation.

“They believed in Brad Pitt,” Austin told Newsnation.

Pitt speaking at the unveiling of plans for the homes in 2007 (Getty Images)

“They believed in the dream he sold them… Unfortunately, what they got is a bunch of broken promises… living in rotten houses that should be torn down to the ground and started over.”

Austin said that while Pitt’s foundation had closed its offices, he would keep ​​“fighting every day in court attempting to get them to come into court and answer some questions about what went wrong and how they are planning to make it right”.

Following the initial filing of the lawsuit in 2018, Pitt’s lawyers have attempted to distance him from the Make It Right Foundation and filed to have his name removed from the case, claiming that he wasn’t responsible for the building work.

The Independent has contacted Pitt’s representatives for comment.